Showcase

What about this "Showcase"?

Young Professionals' Showcase Room is a space where portraits of Active and Inspirational Young Professionals in Agricultural Development are displayed. You also would like to tell your story? Register and contact us!

What is the purpose of this and what do you gain from it?

YPARD team believes that sharing experience enables:

informing on good practices and lessons learned

generating thoughts and ideas for optimizing activities

inspiring each other for more innovation and entrepreneurship

...and more!

Showcase Room

I think the reason more young people aren’t interested in an agricultural career is the lack of promotion. Agriculture has been left behind. In my country, every year universities are offering more office type careers, so young people are pursuing those. It is down to us, those that work in farming, to share our experience and tell how much we love to work in agriculture.

Today, I am agricultural economist, an agricultural extension officer and an agricultural communicator not only for YPARD Nigeria but for agriculture.You too can choose your agricultural path and become the best and that could turn out to be an inspiration for someone out there.

Opportunities are a pool of doors in our lives, we just have to find the keys to open them. My family, my University and YPARD, have been the keys for many of them. Now it’s time to become a key too, and return what others have given to me.

Focusing on young farmers, and young people in general be it professionals in agriculture and consumers in rural areas, is key in all of this. They are more open to adopting more sustainable, or just different practices and comprise a large share of the local populationAnd it’s them that will be hit hardest by the consequences of unsustainable practices.

In the end, what truly matters is the love for agriculture that drives young people to grow their own food and maintain continuous production in spite of financial difficulties and initial obstacles. I would therefore like to see this generation as the one that changed the reality of agriculture for better, one garden at a time.

I am very glad to be part of the first ten years of YPARD. I am one of the thousands of youths who have benefited from YPARD’s work, activities, and information. Without a doubt, I will always be grateful for their help in shaping my present.

Growing up on the farm, in the rural area, provides a unique life experience. You learn many life skills and lessons. It can be exciting but there are times that it can be challenging as well. “I didn't think much of these rural experiences at the time, but I have begun to appreciate them lately in my work and life. Anytime I step on the farm, I become like a child again”

Many countries have stressed that many youth are no longer interested in agriculture. Yes, this was me at first; but now because of the work of YPARD, you can interact with thousands of young, bright innovative minds who have plans to transform the image of agriculture.

"Never listen to those who discourage you trying a new idea, to bring a difference in your life. Pig is a lovely animal worth rearing for profit and prosperity; it’s not a dirty animal for sure as they can give a decent income if one knows how to raise them well " says Mr. Amar Singh

Agritools project

Agritools is the first multimedia research project that showcases how African tech innovations and technology-based startups are revolutionizing the agribusiness sector and promoting the development of cultural values and rural policies.

SDG 15 was created to bring attention to the negative side effects from agricultural and industrial development. Youth therefore can play a supporting role to increase awareness on environmental conservation and promote the agenda of SDG for agricultural sustainability to make sure others are aware about it.

After growing up in an environment where agriculture is not seen as an important career for young people, I realize that the potential youth groups are largely ignored in policies and programs. The Extension and Advisory Services (EAS) must engage young people in innovations and entrepreneurial activities or else they will continue migrating to cities in search of better options for living.

As a professional employed in agricultural projects wherever possible, I try to involve fellow young agricultural practitioners in development work. In addition to my work, I also give visiting lectures at Madan Bhandari Agro-Technical College at Ghorahi, Dang where I share my knowledge and experience on agricultural mechanization to students as this is relatively new in Nepal.

Today, my activities have created jobs for young people interested in livestock development, encouraged many farmers already frustrated with inadequate productivity, empowered women in the livestock value chain and have contributed immensely to the rapid multiplication of livestock and sustainability of livestock value chain in Nigeria and West Africa.

I believe that agriculture was meant to be my destiny and I am grateful for being inspired to pursue a career in science. If I had to choose all over again, I would without a doubt and a second thought choose agriculture. I love being an agronomist. It gives me enormous sense of job satisfaction and achievement.

Because of the universal reach of agriculture, I believe my career in it has, and will continue to have, a truly positive impact on the global community. #IamAg, I am involved in agriculture and surrounded by it. #AreYouAg too?

When I look back, I realise that the job I am doing today did not exist when I was a child or at secondary school. I just followed by heart and passion, and did what I feel happy doing. Therefore, my advice to someone interested in my career is to first of all love what you do.

My advice to be successful in an agricultural career is to not only focus on passing the exams and finishing all your tasks. Tomorrow you will be the one who will feed the people and you must know how to produce healthy food. Your worth will only be equal to what you know.

If you are looking for a job that gives you real job satisfaction, inner peace and a relationship with nature then I invite you to study agriculture. Agriculture is a noble profession because it was man’s first occupation and remains critical to the survival of mankind.